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Sunday, September 27, 2009

Jamie T - Kings & Queens

When your debut record - an exhilarating, uncompromising mix of punk, indie and hip-hop - is so highly acclaimed, what do you do next? Well, if you’re Jamie T, you get into Bob Dylan and write a load of acoustic songs. Then you listen to some US hardcore punk and throw new influences and old together to come up with something similarly eclectic to your debut. Once again, you record it in your bedroom and in a shed.

And so, a couple of years after Panic Prevention, we have Kings & Queens, Jamie Treays’ potentially Difficult Second Album. Beginning with his Joe Strummeresque vocal barking its way into an infectious chorus hook, it seems he’s developed a real ear for a pop tune. Further evidence of this comes from Sticks 'n' Stones, which is a singalong anthem perfect for summer. The album is filled with upbeat songs based more around punky guitars than urban hip-hop as Treays - a cheeky London rapscallion - fires off colloquialisms about life in boozers and getting up to no good. There are some fine examples of his acoustic tangent, although the beautiful Emily’s Heart is more Doherty than Dylan.

This sophomore effort might not be as brilliantly barmy and uncompromising as Panic Prevention, but it is an effervescent, accessible record. Impressively, it manages to be observational while still brimming with summery songs that have all the fun, madness and Englishness of a night’s binge-drinking. Only with Kings & Queens you don’t suffer a hangover and you want to do the whole thing all over again as soon as you’re finished.